Connections Bid Farewell to City of Light, Accelerate

The trainers responsible for the two best dirt horses in training—as of Jan. 26, at least—got one last morning with the equine athletes that took them to the highest levels of the game Jan. 27 at Gulfstream Park.

Mr. and Mrs. William K. Warren Jr.'s City of Light  and Hronis Racing's Accelerate —the first and third finishers, respectively, in Saturday's Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1)—got onto a horse trailer about 11:30 a.m. ET to head toward their new home at Lane's End in Kentucky for stud duty.

Although he had a flight to catch back to his home base in Southern California, trainer Michael McCarthy seemed to be intent on spending as much time with City of Light as he could, even if it meant dodging endless, playful bites while on the end of the shank when the 5-year-old son of Quality Road  was bathed by groom Ivan Vasquez.

"He's got me twice this week," McCarthy said as his arm tired from trying to keep his talented pupil at bay. "I don't want to make it a third time."

Much of McCarthy's morning was spent inside or in front of City of Light's stall at Barn 16 on the Gulfstream backside, taking in as much as he could with the best horse he's ever trained.

"I try to spend as much time as I can with him," McCarthy said. "Sitting around—I'm sure by the end of the week here, he's tired of me sitting, staring at him all day long, but it's part of what we do, you know? It's a little bittersweet. … It'll be hard (not to see him in the stall), so we'll try to hit the ground running.

"I don't know that we'll ever be able to replace him. Probably can't, but we'll try to find something—something like him."

Trainer John Sadler came to Barn 16 a bit earlier, as South Florida was still shrouded in the early morning darkness, to check up on and say farewell to Accelerate, along with owners Kosta and Stephanie Hronis, who took time saying their own goodbyes at the front of the 6-year-old chestnut's stall.

Sadler watched Accelerate jog a bit outside the barn, then felt his front legs, embraced him around the neck, gave him a couple of affectionate pats, and ran his hands down the son of Lookin At Lucky 's back one more time.

"The nice thing is, he's sound this morning," Sadler said of Accelerate, who was crowned champion older dirt male Jan. 24 at the Eclipse Awards. "He looks good and he scoped well last night, so we feel good about sending him home. He's had a great campaign, a championship year, and now he'll go to his next career. … He's a great horse, we love him to death, and we'll look forward to seeing some of his babies."

Unlike some of the successful mares Hronis and Sadler have raced and sold in recent years, however, Accelerate won't be out of reach. They'll still be involved with the five-time grade 1 winner, and Lane's End is just a plane ride away.

"This is more like (sending) a kid to college," Sadler said. "He's going to be away from us, but he's still going to be with us. We're going to breed some mares to him, and obviously we'll be looking to buy some of his offspring."

Trainer Chad Brown also reported Sunday that his Pegasus starters, Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T) winner Bricks and Mortar and Pegasus World Cup pacesetter and last-place finisher Patternrecognition, came out of their races "in good order so far."

Trainer Todd Pletcher reported the same for Pegasus fifth-place finisher Audible and said Fred W. Hooper Stakes (G3) favorite Copper Town, who struck his head on the top of the gate as he acted up in the stall before the race, sustained only "minor abrasions" from the incident.

Pletcher said the $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) March 30 at Meydan Racecourse remains a possibility for Audible, owned by WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, Starlight Racing, and Head of Plains Partners.

Trainer Jorge Navarro said Hooper winner Aztec Sense was still being evaluated Sunday morning. The Street Sense  gelding was vanned off the track after his victory Saturday because he showed signs of being off in his left front leg. Navarro said X-rays Saturday night came back clean.

"We're still trying to figure out what happened," the trainer said. "With the muddy track, maybe a ligament. The vet is coming back later to check him out again, but it's nothing major."